The more I listen to post All The Worlds A Stage Rush, the more I realise how good the
band were in their early period. After their first live album the band closed one door and
opened a new one, but Rush also lost a characteristic edge that graced albums like Caress
Of Steel and 2112 for all the naivete of those mid seventies albums, but at least those
albums contained a substance. Albums of their time, sure, but much easier albums in terms
of playability than Farewell To Kings, and especially this one, Hemispheres. There is an
innocent wonderment lost as the band progressed, they really left behind all the nuances
of the old Rush as they progressed, and it is an almost forced progression to my ears with
this one. The music takes a back seat to the lyrical narratives of drummer Neil Peart's
obsession with all things sci-fi, social and dumb. The music lacks a bite and take the lyrical
context nowhere. Alex Lifeson's guitar always soared and took flight, but now he's rigid
and dull, mainly hanging on full chord sweeps and concentrating on time signatures to the
point that he, and the band, lose all sense of composition, making for an awkward use of
space on many occasions. The music is incidental to Peart's lyrics, sung by Geddy Lee, as
always, but lacking any depth to make them exciting and/or visual without getting (or
gedding if you will) irritated by his incessant whine. In fact this whole album comes across
as a banal affair on purpose, and it just pisses me off.
Philo |1/5 |
MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE
As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.
You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).